The One Year Bible- December 30th

Welcome to The One Year Bible blog for the Bethany community.  For those of you just beginning this journey you are in for a wonderful experience as there is nothing quite like being in God’s Word each and every day of the year.  I welcome back those of you who journeyed with us last year.  The format for this study will be the same as last year.  I will try to give you some insights on what you have been reading and try to connect the dots the best I can. Then I will give you some things to look for in the upcoming reading for the week or some bits of information that I think may be interesting.  This format seems to work well and you can always ask questions by commenting on the blog or by sending me an email. 

Hopefully you have purchased a Bible that says “The One Year Bible” on it.  That is the format that we will be using.  You can also find the assigned readings for the day by going to www.oneyearbibleonline.com.  There you can find the readings for each day of the year and you can use your own Bible. 

Each day in The One Year Bible you will find a selection from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, a portion from the Psalms, and a selection from the book of Proverbs. January begins with Genesis, Matthew, Psalm 1, and Proverbs 1. When the year is over you will have read through the entire Bible and have read Psalms twice.

Getting in the Habit
If you are not in the habit of spending time each day in the Word it may be a struggle at first to find time. You will need to experiment and find a time that works for you. For many people, the morning works best, for others it’s after the kids are in bed. Others find that during lunchtime works well. You may want to divide up the reading and do part in the morning and part at night. It will take about 15 minutes to read through the passages for each day. Regardless of the time, you will need to do what works and then do it every day.

Find a Partner
It is always helpful to find someone who is willing to read with you. You can keep each other accountable and bounce questions off of one another as you read. There will also be a weekly on-line study to help keep you on track and to provide a place for questions and comments. Each week (usually Mondays) a new study will be posted at www.bethanylutheran.blogspot.com.

Tips for Comprehension
-Begin your time in prayer and ask God to send His Spirit to guide you as you read.
-Find a place to read that is relatively free of distractions.
-Read the passage aloud and slowly if necessary. The goal is not just to finish, but to understand.
-Make some notes in the Bible and underline key verses. Look back at them later.
-Remember the Bible tells one story. That story is about redemption from Sin by the work of Jesus. Keep that in mind as you read.
-Take your Bible to Church and read along to see what comes before and after.
-Keep a journal about what you read and how it has affected you.
-Memorize key verses.
-Look at a children’s Bible storybook to get a mental image of the stories. This is especially helpful for the Old Testament stories.
-Teach what you have been reading to your children. This will help reinforce the stories for you and introduce them to your children.
-Share what you are reading with coworkers or friends who are not Christians. This can happen especially if you are reading during your lunch hour at work. If they are interested in the Bible point them to 1 John and to Mark.
-Use a daily devotional book (Portals of Prayer, Strength for the Day, etc.) in addition to your reading.
-Look at some Bible maps and get a layout of the land. This is important when talking about events in the Old Testament.
-Don’t worry if you miss a few days. Just double up your readings for a while until you catch up. Don’t try to read it all in one day.
-Some questions to ask as you read: What is the Biblical context of this passage? What is the historical context? Who is speaking and to whom are they speaking? How can I use this information today? Don’t worry if you can’t answer all the questions.

Some things to help you out:
Here are a few websites that I have run across that help me when I am studying the Scriptures:
biblegatway.com - You can search on words or phrases as well as finding texts here.
www.oneyearbibleonline.com -Forgot The One Year Bible at home or even left it at the office? This site will give you the readings for the day. A great help when you don’t have your Bible with you.
www.oneyearbibleblog.com - Want get some in-depth information for the readings of the day? This is the place. It gives you the readings, some artwork and some commentary specifically on the readings for the day. This is a great site. I almost didn’t want to tell you about it because I get some of my info here.

There is also an app for your iPhone iPad or Android device that will help you.  Just search for “The One Year Bible.”

Seth’s Thoughts

This week I want to give you some of the vital stats for the books that we are starting.  Each time we start a new book I will give you the vital stats to give you a road map of where we are going and to give you some background information that will be helpful in understanding the context and the overall story of the book and how it relates to the rest of Scripture.  Next week I will give you some thoughts to the readings so far and help answer any questions you may have.

The Old Testament starts off in Genesis. Here are the vital stats for the book:

AUTHOR: Moses

DATE WRITTEN: c. 1446-1406 BC

PURPOSE: To trace the passing of the promise of God’s Savior from generation to generation, to all Israel and to all nations.
KEY PEOPLE: Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph

LAW THEMES: The curse and death that come with sin and disobedience; humankind’s slavery to evil; families divided by sin.

GOSPEL THEMES: The promise of a Savior; God gives blessings, life, and freedom; God’s goodness and covenant promise for the faithful

The New Testament begins with Matthew’s account of the life of Jesus. Here are the vital stats on the book:

AUTHOR: Matthew (also called Levi)

DATE WRITTEN: c. AD 50

PURPOSE: To proclaim that God’s end-times rule has come in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.
KEY PEOPLE: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the disciples, the religious leaders, Caiaphas, Pliate, Mary Magdalene
KEY PLACES: Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Capernaum, Galilee, Judea

LAW THEMES: God’s rule in judgment; repentance; political and religious opposition; authoritative teaching; confronting a brother who sins.

GOSPEL THEMES: God’s rule in mercy; Baptism; compassion; ransom; Lord’s Supper; forgiving a brother who sins.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Matthew is filled with Messianic language ("Son of David" is used throughout) and Old Testament references (53 quotes and 76 other references). This Gospel was not written as a chronological account; its purpose was to present the clear evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior.

Psalms:

AUTHORS: David wrote 73 psalms, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote nine, Solomon wrote two, Etan and Moses each wrote one, and 51 are anonymous.
DATE WRITTEN: Between the time of Moses (around 1440 BC) and the Babylonian Captivity (586 BC)

PURPOSE: To express hope in the Lord God for salvation, using prayers and praises spoken by God’s people at the Tabernacle and Temple or by individuals.

LAW THEMES: Persecutors assail God’s people; suffering brought by personal failures; waiting for God’s deliverance; exile in Babylon.

GOSPEL THEMES: The Lord’s saving righteousness and steadfast love; the Lord provides for and protects His people; prophecies of the Messiah, Jesus; God’s gift of life through the Word.
SPECIAL FEATURES: For the most part, the psalms were not intended to be narrations of historical events. However, they often parallel events in history such as David’s flight from Saul and his sin with Bathsheba.

Proverbs:

AUTHOR: Solomon wrote or at least compiled most of the book with Lemuel and Agur contributing later sections.
DATE WRITTEN: Early in Solomon’s reign as king (10^th Century BC)

PURPOSE: To bestow God’s wisdom.
LAW THEMES: Because foolishness is rebellion against God, fools condemn themselves to destruction; instruction cubs the misdeeds of fools and guides the deeds of the wise.

GOSPEL THEMES: Christ, God’s wisdom, delivers us from self-destruction and brings forth forgiveness.
SPECIAL FEATURES: This is a book of wise sayings, a textbook for teaching people how to live godly lives through the repetition of wise thoughts.  The book uses varied literary forms: poetry, brief parables, pointed questions, and couplets. Other literary devices used in the book include, antithesis, comparison, and personification.

If at any time you have some questions, concerns or just need a pep talk, feel free to contact me, smoorman@bethanylutheran.org, or (562) 421-4711 x. 13. May God richly bless you as you embark on this journey and remember: “All Scripture is god-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” –2 Timothy 3:16-17

Bethany Bullet - December 23, 2013

Notes from last week’s generous life based on Luke 2

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and there were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”  Luke 2:8-15

#I’mNoAngel as if there was any doubt. Yet, my traveling companions will attest that was the assertion of a certain airline security guard.  Standing in line, wearing my Angel jersey awaiting screening, the agent who would inspect me looked the jersey over, proudly and loudly proclaimed, “You’re no angel.” Obvious enough; in fact if I were I would have flown direct.  Lucky for him as well (I suppose) as we recall what happened in Sodom when folk started pawing at the angels…but I digress.

True, I’m no angel and it is fairly easy to recognize that!  Just as easy as it is to recognize when you’ve been visited by one; the shepherds realized immediately what they were seeing and who it was they were hearing.  

Which confirms all the more that I’m not an angel, listen to the text again starting with vs.10, “the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.”  How did the shepherds greet these good tidings, vs.15 says they said, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  HOLD IT THERE, let’s hit rewind, ‘Which the LORD has made known.’

I’m no angel obviously.  If I were, you know what verse 16 would have sounded like? “Just as suddenly as they had left the angels returned and said, excuse me? Wait just a minute there shepherd boys. We’re thrilled you’re going to Bethlehem that was the hope, prayer and plan when we came to share this news, let me say that again, when we came; look around sheep watchers, WE came to share this news.  What is this that the LORD has made known to us?”

That is not how the text reads because - I’m no angel and no angels are like me. Unlike mine, theirs is the picture of a generous life.  A life that gives and is not looking for credit but rather praying for accomplishment; such is given from the joy of being called to give and from delight in the opportunity.

We are no angels as too often we begin counting, tabulating, bragging or comparing; we have fallen from generous giver to credit seeker. 

Yet…

V  When like the angels…we give not seeking personal recognition but praying for God’s action,

V  When like the angels…our generosity wells up in what is almost a song sung out of the joy of being called to give,

V  When like the angels…we find in our living a delight in being afforded such a humbling opportunity as to give, and,

V  When like the angels…ours will be a generous life and “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is what will be heard when others respond to our generosity with the words, “LOOK what the LORD has done for us!”  Amen!

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- December 23rd

We are almost at the end of 2013 so that means this is the last post for the One Year Bible for this year. Next week I will post information on reading the Bible next year.  January 6^th will be post #1 for 2014 as we start fresh again. I hope you all will be joining us next year as well. If you were at all like me, seeing the end of the book is both exciting and rewarding. It is no small task to read the entire Bible. There are parts that are not much fun to read and there are parts that are hard to relate to. I think the best part for me is seeing how all the pieces fit together. The story as a whole is so much more powerful than some sections taken out of context. I hope that as you hear scripture being read in worship, you can fit it into its context and fill in some of the blanks in your mind to get the whole picture. I have finished my reading so this post will make reference to some things that you may have not read yet. Don’t worry, you can always come back and read the post again. With that, on to the last study of the year...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

This week we spent time in the book of Zechariah. The book of Zechariah is a post-exilic book, meaning it was written to the people who had returned to Jerusalem at the end of the exile in Babylon. It has many interesting and detailed images written in apocalyptic form. It was nice that we were reading from the book of Revelation at the same time since John seems to have used Zechariah for some of his imagery. This is not to say that John plagiarized his book but he did use other sources to help him make sense of what he was seeing. Many scholars have a difficult time with the prophecies in the book because there is no consensus on the historical context of many of the images. We know that some are obviously Christological (The Branch, illusions of Palm Sunday (9:9), looking on the one whom they have pierced (12:10)) and others must have some context in the day that we are too far removed to see. Eric Hartzell has this to say in his commentary on Zechariah: Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. He too had seen the captivity and had returned. With Haggai, he say the people’s apathy toward building God’s house. He joined in the message of Haggai who spoke for God...”Build my house!” The book of Ezra tells us. “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them” (Ezra 5:1) There are many striking pictures in the book of Zechariah. Some of them are surrealistic and in kaleidoscopic colors. Some are stark and strange. Zechariah painted with prophetic brush on the imaginations and consciences of his people. We come upon these paintings today and see that over the years the colors have not faded and the images have not been blurred. He painted hell and heaven; he preached God’s law and his gospel. Zechariah was also a prophet who spoke words directly describing the coming Savior. In this book we hear words that we recognize from the Passion History of our Lord. Zechariah knew the Savior by inspiration and by prophecy.

A few more days in 2013 sees the reading of the book of Malachi and the finishing of Revelation.

Here are the vital stats for Malachi:

PURPOSE: To confront the people with their sins and to restore their relationship with God

AUTHOR: Malachi

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Jews in Jerusalem and God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: about 430 B.C.

SETTING: Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah were post exilic prophets to Judah. Haggai and Zechariah rebuked the people for their failure to rebuild the temple. Malachi confronted them with their neglect of the temple and their false and profane worship.

KEY VERSES: “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace...But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (4:1-2)

LAW THEMES: Rejection of Edom; condemnation of unfaithful priests; divorce; unfaithfulness in offerings; the day of the Lord.

GOSPEL THEMES: Love for Israel; the Lord’s faithfulness; the messenger of the covenant; deliverance from evil.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Malachi’s literary style employs a dramatic use of questions asked by God and his people.

The book of Malachi is another post-exilic book and has many connections with the book of Nehemiah. Kenneth Barker in the book introduction of Malachi in the NIV Study Bible says:

Although the Jews had been allowed to return from exile and rebuild the temple, several discouraging factors brought about a general religious malaise: (1) Their land remained but a small province in the backwaters of the Persian empire, (2) the glorious future announced by the prophets had not yet been realized and, (3) their God had not yet come to his temple with majesty and power to exalt his kingdom in the sight of the nations. Doubting God’s covenant love and no longer trusting his justice, the Jews of the restored community began to loose hope. So their worship degenerated into a listless perpetuation of mere forms, and they no longer took the law seriously. Malachi rebukes their doubt of God’s love and the faithlessness of both priests and people. To their charge that God is unjust because he has failed to come in judgment to exalt his people, Malachi answers with an announcement and a warning. The Lord they seek will come—but he will come “like a refiners fire”. He will come to judge—but he will judge his people first.

Malachi ends with a warning of the Day of the Lord. As we have discussed before in this blog, this Day is always referring to the Day of Judgment; the day that God will put an end to the wickedness of this world once and for all. It is never a good day for those apart from God, but for those who believe it will be a good day.

The New Testament

It would take me weeks to give you all the info needed to understand the book of Revelation. One of my seminary classes was devoted to this book and we spent hours trying to figure out what it all meant and to try to make some applications for ourselves. For that class I read the biggest book of my scholastic career (almost 700 pages!!). I learned a lot and I am struggling trying to figure out how I can give you the condensed version. I will give you some highlights from my big commentary authored by Louis Brighton:

The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible. Whether it was written last or not, the church was led to place it at the end of the canon because she saw in it the completion of God’s revelation. Nothing further would be revealed by God until the second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelation is thus the culmination of the entire story of salvation contained in the Bible. It is the end point of all that is written in both the OT and NT. for it draws all of revelation, both prophetic and apostolic, to its final goal: the exalted reign of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of lords and the fulfillment of the promise of the new heaven and earth. As the last book of the Bible and the completion of God’s revelation to his church, it is the lens through which the entire Scripture is to be viewed. Revelation reveals and confirms that Christ was prophetically promised and that his incarnation, death and resurrection happened so that God’s creation could be restored to its original glory and righteousness. Revelation thus points to the final meaning and the final answer to all that is revealed in the Bible. In addition, as the last book, Revelation puts an official stamp on all of God’s revelation, a final confirmation of the divine truth and origin of God’s spoken and written Word. This finality points to the urgency of the last times, in which all things will be brought to an end—an urgency which reminds the Christian to Hold fast to the faith and which encourages the church to complete her mission.

Brighton goes on to say:

The message of Revelation reveals two ongoing phenomena: the terrifying sufferings and horror on earth, and the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord in his heavenly exalted glory. As these two phenomena are described, God’s people on earth are encouraged to cling in hopeful faith to the eternal heavenly glory that beckons them in Christ. In turn they also are strengthened and encouraged for the work of Christ’s mission on earth. The tribulations and sufferings portrayed lead the Christian not to pessimism and despair but to realism. The adversities and troubles prophesied will come to pass, and Christians will suffer because of and through them, as will unbelievers. Such plagues and distresses demonstrate God’s wrath and judgment for the purpose of motivating the godless to repentance. God’s own people also experience these same sufferings and plagues, for the dragon, Satan uses these sufferings and plagues in his attempt to destroy the church and her witness.

With all this being said, the most important thing to get out of a reading of the book of Revelation is that God is in control, his wrath is coming, it is time to repent, God will be victorious and all those who put their trust in him will have the blessings of eternal life. If this is all you got out of the book, then great. The other stuff is there to help make this point clear.

Bits And Pieces

I think the best way to finish out this study is to quote from the last Psalm, number 150:

Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

I cannot say it any better myself. AMEN!!!

Bethany Bullet - December 17, 2013

The lists are long, the stores are packed; it is the giving season. 

In my house, the texts are flying between family members looking to find the right gift or to suggest alternatives.  We even have some gifts wrapped and placed under the tree.  Giving is the order of the season.

You know, generosity is fashionable during the Christmas season.  Giving makes us feel good.  Living a generous life brings honor to the heart and love to others. 

You know as well as I that there are many who will go without this year.  No presents, no tree, no celebratory meal, no family gatherings.  It can be a time of deep depression, anxiety, and profound distress and darkness. 

In this season I can’t help but reflect upon Bob Cratchit the fictional character who is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol.

In the story, Cratchit is first seen at work, where he copies letters by hand in an under-heated "dismal little cell". He is repeatedly described as "ugly" and clothes himself in a tattered white comforter, since he cannot afford a coat. Cratchit is treated poorly by Scrooge and given a weekly salary of "but fifteen bob", a mere pittance, insufficient to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner. Nevertheless, he remains loyal to his employer.

You know the story, Ebenezer Scrooge invisibly visits Cratchit and his family in their small Camden Town home on Christmas Day as well as on a future Christmas. He is accompanied on these visits by the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, respectively. It is partly through concern for the plight of Cratchit's youngest son, the frail and crippled Tiny Tim, that Scrooge makes the transformation from miser to philanthropist, offering Cratchit a raise and "discussion of his affairs".

Ebenezer Scrooge lived a life that was anything but generous.  His miserly ways solidified a hardened heart and a blind eye to the needs of those around him.  Grace and mercy were not a part of his vocabulary or influenced his actions. 

Dickens writes about an encounter with one looking for a gift for those in need,

“At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge... it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir." 

"Are there no prisons?" 

"Plenty of prisons..."

"And the Union workhouses." demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?" 

"Both very busy, sir..."

"Those who are badly off must go there."

"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."

"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."

In his quest for cash he had given up so much.  His hopes of accumulating wealth dominated his life and sabotaged his relationships. His reputation was in shambles. His plans of establishing a prosperous and respected business in the community and passed years ago.  He did not know how to give.

It wasn’t until in a startling moment of fear and terror he comes face to face with a spirit that changes his heart and he would come to understand what it means to live a generous life.  In that moment the life of those around him would be changed forever. 

It is another startling moment that is before us this morning. 

From Luke the first chapter,

“²⁶ Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. ²⁷ The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸ When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what this greeting meant.” (Luke 1:26-29)

A startling encounter in a backwater town in Israel, a messenger from God brings a startling revelation that will change the world forever.

Mary is asked to give generously to God so that he may be glorified.

In contrast to the visit the angel makes to an aging Zechariah and Elizabeth earlier in the story, this time Gabriel goes not the holy city of Jerusalem but to a humble town in Galilee.  He goes not to a temple but to a house, not to an aged man but a vibrant young maiden.

The promised child to Zechariah and Elizabeth was an answer to many prayers; the promised child to Mary was a total and complete shock. 

Not to an old couple finally having their first son, but to a virgin, not conception in the natural way, but by the Spirit of God, Mary would have to give up so much. 

“³⁸ Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.” (Luke 1:38)

Think about what Mary gives up in this moment.

·         The hopes of her parents who were planning a wedding

·         Her reputation as a good and godly girl

·         Her husband’s plans of establishing his household as a prosperous and respected one in the community

In that moment, she gives her womb to the Lord knowing that what the angel had told her would come to pass.  It is a moment of faith, knowing that ridicule, dishonor, and difficulty were coming her way.

At times we are more like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dicken’s Christmas Carol, hording and holding, not wanting to let go of what we believe is rightly ours.  We do not live generously because we have a fierce desire to keep permanently.  Have you ever been called a Scrooge? Have you scoffed a loud “Bah Humbug” at those taking a collection for those in need?  

Mary is neither miserly, nor mistaken for a scrooge, but she gives generously because of the honor of giving, from a faith that knew what she had received: the honor of the angels visit, the honor of a conversation with the Lord of Creation, the honor of a role in the prophetic pageant of the Nativity.  She gave from a desire to honor God and magnify the Lord.

Just a bit later in Luke we hear the wonderful words of Mary’s song, called the magnificat, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)

Mary does not doubt but she lives a generous life and gives of herself so that the Lord may be glorified.  Eventually the Child she would raise, to whom she would dedicate her time as a loving mother would generously give of Himself on the cross.  The Babe of Bethlehem ascents the hill of Calvary to give Himself up and change the lives of everyone on earth.  As He breathes His last, His mother is there to watch, to wonder and to weep. 

Jesus gives His life to honor His heavenly Father.  He gives generously to bring you life and He rose victoriously to guarantee it. 

Here at Bethany we talk about giving proportionately for our giving comes from a faith that knows what we have received in Christ for we too have been visited by God’s messengers, He comes to us in word and water, and wafer and wine, for God has come to live with us every bit as much as He lived with Mary.

He comes to you again today in a manger not of wood but of flesh as you come face to face with Jesus in this place and we have been changed. 

We give ourselves, our time and our possessions from a desire to honor God, from a faith that knows what we have been given that he might be glorified through our generous life.  This is anything but Bah Humbug!

After an intense night, Ebenezer Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man, sending a turkey to his employee Bob Cratchit he begins to live a generous life.  Dickens concludes his story with these words speaking of Scrooge, “and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!”

Are you ready to live a generous life; a life that points to the generous life of the Savior?  May I suggest a proportionate gift to help the church, or a unwrapped toy donated to Christian Outreach in Action to be given to one in need, or your time in service to others and not just in this season when it is fashionable but always. 

We give for the honor of giving from a faith that knows what has been received and from a desire to honor God. 

May it be always be said of those who know Christ, that we live a generous life and that others may observe, God Bless us, Every One!

-Pastor Seth Moorman

The One Year Bible- December 16th

As Christmas fast approaches, so does the completion of our journey through the Bible this year. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. This journey never really ends but can be the beginning of some new habits. I hope this year has got you in the habit of daily time in God’s Word. I hope you will continue with this habit whether it is reading the Bible again in this same format or it is another way to study, please keep up the hard work. This is the second to last post for this year. Next week I will wrap up all the readings for the year and then the first of January we will start it up again.  On to today’s study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

The book of Jonah is famous for its fish story, and in many respects, that is one of the keys to this book. Jonah tried to run from God. His fear got the best of him and he tried to get away from it. I found it interesting that even in the midst of his flight from God, the Lord was honored. Did you catch it when the men on the same boat as Jonah threw him overboard and the storm stopped? “At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” (Jonah 1:16 NIV). One great connection to Christ in Jonah comes from mouth of Jesus himself, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40 NIV). Jesus used Jonah to help teach what was going to happen to him; yet again another great connection between the Old and New Testaments.

Micah is one of those gloom and doom books of the latter Old Testament. It has a similar message to many of the other books, i.e. destruction is coming, turn back to God. But there is a huge gem of prophecy in chapter 5, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2 NIV). This is one of the great Christmas prophecies and shows why the Messiah had to be born in the small town of Bethlehem. Just one chapter later we see some great practical advice to the exiles as they live in captivity. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV).

The prophet Nahum writes some of the most comforting and the most disturbing things in the Old Testament. He reminds us that the Lord is slow to get angry (1:3) and he is our refuge (1:7), but what will happen to those who don’t believe (i.e. Nineveh) will be something awful.

I am glad the book of Habakkuk is not so long because most of it is depressing and bad news. Thank goodness for the last two verses of the book, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:18-19 NIV). This is the key to the book. It reminds me in a way to the book of Job who said, “I know that my Redeemer Lives!”

The key to the book of Zephaniah is in Chapter 2, “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility” (Zephaniah 2:3 NIV). Even in the middle of this destruction that will come as a direct result of sin, God still reminds them to do right.

Haggai writes to those who have returned to Jerusalem but were busy building their own houses and not a house for the Lord. Haggai gives the people encouragement to get to work on building the new temple and gives them a reminder that God is with them

The New Testament

I think maybe I need to back up and give you some perspective on the book of Revelation. Without seeing the whole picture, the details will only confuse you. First of all as I have written before, the book of Revelation is in the genre of other apocalyptic books; as the American Heritage Dictionary defines as: Involving or portending widespread devastation or ultimate doom. The book of Revelation looks at this in regards to the end of the world and it looks at it from different angles. As one of my seminary professors said, John sees a vision of the end of the world from three points of view. Each point of view is like a different camera angle shooting the same scene. Each camera sees the action and the characters from a different point of view. Each angle provides certain aspects of the story to be emphasized. Some angles completely obscure the action and something may be lost. When John writes about what he sees we must keep in mind that this is not all happening in linear time as we are used to. John sees the complete destruction of the world with the seven seals on the scroll opened by Jesus himself. Then he sees the destruction of the world again with the seven trumpet blasts. This time different parts of the same story are emphasized. A bit later we will see the seven censers of God’s wrath being poured out. This time John will describe the end of the world from another point of view. In the middle of all of this is the cosmic war between Satan and Christ. We must remember that the war was won for us on the cross and the open tomb. We are part of the group that has been sealed in baptism and we have the mark of God on us. Therefore all of this bad stuff will not affect us. We are assured of our place in heaven already. I hope this give some perspective to you as you read. I will spend some more time next week getting into some of the details.

Bits and Pieces

Only two books to go.... Here are the vital stats for Zechariah:

PURPOSE: To give hope to God’s people by revealing God’s future deliverance through the Messiah

AUTHOR: Zechariah

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Jews in Jerusalem who had returned form their captivity in Babylon and to God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Chapters 1-8 were written about 520-518 B.C. Chapters 9-14 were written about 480 B.C.

SETTING: The exiles had returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple, but the work had been thwarted and stalled. Haggai and Zechariah confronted the people with their task and encouraged them to complete it.

KEY VERSES: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey...He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and form the River to the ends of the earth." (9:9-10)

LAW THEMES: A call to return to the Lord in repentance; dishonesty condemned; the whirlwind among the nations; the doomed flock.

GOSPEL THEMES: The Lord chooses His people; the Branch prophecy of forgiveness; the temple restored; nations seek the Lord; the coming King; the day of the Lord.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The book is the most apocalyptic and Messianic of all the Minor Prophets.